Huawei Mate 10 Lite review: How many cameras do you need? This phone gives you 4

There's a growing list of phones out there for you if you're not able or willing to spend big bucks on something from Apple, Samsung or Google. The OnePlus 5T , for instance, offers flagship performance from $499. If you just need the basics, Moto's G5 does everything for $229.

7.6

Huawei Mate 10 Lite

The Good

Huawei’s Mate 10 Lite gives you enough power and a fantastic design, including a 5.9-inch screen framed by small bezels, for less than $400.

The Bad

Its dual cameras on the front and back are more style than substance, and its battery life, while acceptable, could be better. It's also lacking NFC or water resistance.

The Bottom Line

The OnePlus 5T is still the midrange king, but Huawei’s Mate 10 Lite is a great choice if you can get it.

Now there's a new phone to add to this list, Huawei's Mate 10 Lite , a solid option in the middle of those other two phones. It officially retails in Australia as the Nova 2i for AU$499, which converts to $380 and £280. But if you're looking to import, which you'll have to since it doesn't have an official US or UK release, sites are offering it for around AU$350, which is more like $270 and £200. At that price, the Mate 10 Lite is a steal.

It has four cameras -- two on the front and two on the back -- though they're more show than go. That's OK though, because the Mate Lite also has a vibrant 2,160x1,080-pixel display, premium touches and more than enough power to browse the web and watch videos smoothly. 

The Huawei Mate 10 Lite's price is just right

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Doubling down on dual cameras

Dual cameras have become the in thing for phones over the past year. With the Mate Lite, Huawei doubles down on dual cameras by doubling up: The phone has dual shooters not only on its back (16 plus 2 megapixels), but on its front too (12 plus 2 megapixels).

This is all good and fun, but quantity only counts as long as there's quality too -- Google's Pixel 2 , with its one rear lens, proved that. And since the biggest gap between midrange phones and premium ones is often camera quality, you shouldn't expect the world of the Mate Lite's cameras.

They're competent, and can shoot some decent photos in good light conditions. But they're not particularly noteworthy in any way, despite their number. They struggle in both high and low light: The former often leading to overexposure, and some of my low-light photos came out a little grainy. Plus, many pictures I shot looked artificially over-sharpened too. 

Still, it's nice to have both its front and back shooters capable of bokeh-style photos, which mimic the depth-of-field effect of a DSLR camera, even if it doesn't handle fine details like people's hair as well as other phones. Software can be a saving grace here: Huawei's tech lets you adjust the aperture after you take a portrait shot, meaning you can change how blurred the background is. This is helpful, because the phone blurs backgrounds too much as a default (see above photos). There's also a beautify option for the selfie camera, which is a common feature that softens lines for a smoother skin tone.

Better than budget

The Mate Lite is without some key features of new phones, like NFC options and waterproofing, but one of its biggest strengths is that it doesn't feel like a budget phone. 

It has a nice heft to it, avoiding the cheap, plastic touch of many other inexpensive phones. The 5.9-inch, 2:1 screen is also a highlight, accentuated by the phone's small bezels. As with Samsung's Galaxy Note 8, you'll have the option to lengthen most apps to fit this extra space. I never found this to cause any distortion problems, and the 2,160x1,080-pixel screen is sharp and vibrant.

Powered by Huawei's estate-made Kirin 659 CPU, the phone came up short on benchmark tests as compared to its pricier competitors, but using the phone to browse Facebook, send emails and texts doesn't even feel slightly sluggish. The same can be said about its rear fingerprint sensor, which is super snappy, though the camera can lag a little.

There's enough graphical grunt for 3D gaming too. Sonic Dash wasn't quite as smooth on the Mate Lite as it was on my iPhone 8, but it was only when comparing the two that the Mate 10 Lite performance felt jittery.

The Mate Lite lasted around 11 hours in our lab tests, which isn't enough to net it top marks, but is enough to get you through the average day. I browse extensively, including some video watching, during my two hours of commuting each day, but I was never worried the Mate Lite wouldn't make it.

Finally, it comes with 64GB of storage, making it more spacious than other budget phones, which often offer 32GB or 16GB.  

Unlike the OnePlus 5T, the Huawei Mate 10 Lite isn't a true midrange-priced flagship phone replacement: It'd need better cameras, some extra features and more battery life for that. But then again, the 5T isn't as cheap as OnePlus' phones once were. The phone's official retail price of AU$499 ($380 and £280) makes it a good deal, though it's outclassed by the newly released Moto X4, which comes with NFC, water resistance and a better battery life. But being able to snag it from online retailers for less (AU$350, $270, £200) makes it a very worthwhile sell.